There has not been an incident report, however, my brakes failed while driving and I pulled over. This is the fault the SBC System which has an Extended 25 year warranty. I brought it into Mercedes prior to complete failure, but they only replace the Pressure Reservoir. It must be returned to Mercedes for the SBC UNIT replacement.
Mercedes Benz E320 brake failure problems
63 of the 1,164 owner complaints about the Mercedes Benz E320 describe brake failure, most of them for the 2003 model year.
- owner complaints
- 63
- worst model year
- 2003
- typical repair cost reported
- $2,000
- typical mileage
- 105,350
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
ABS 7Stalling 2Check engine light 2Tire blowout 1Power steering loss 1Loss of power 1Hesitation 1Fire or smoke 1
What owners say
A warning in Red came up on the dashboard which said something like "catastrophic break failure" ..I was going slow about to stop at the Red light and the brakes did not work and I hit a mini van
While driving in highway, SBC brake failure warning and failure. Fortunate to be able to come to a stop without crashing into a car ahead since had plenty of time and distance to slowly come to a stop even with reduced braking power. If traveling in rush hour would likely have rear ended a stopped car in front and potentially causing serious injury and damage! This is a known issue with Mercedes, and there is an extended 25 year warranty on the vehicle but for some reason, my vehicle was not included in the recall: the federal safety agency CAMPAIGN ID: 04V296000 2005 Mercedes e320 automatic sedan. I had the dealer replace parts of the the SBA brake unit once, but it has since reappeared on an intermittent basis usually during cold start and then it goes away in a few seconds while pulling out of a driveway, but this time it occurred after having driven for awhile on a freeway Please investigate to include additionally affected vehicles!!!
Brake warning lights flashed and brakes failed
Total brake failure Had to cross the over to the other side of the road to turn around. Was almost hit by an oncoming big rig truck . I've looked it up and this is a common occurrence on these vehicles,! They have a SBC unit that has caused numerous incidents exactly like mine . Someone could easily be killed because of this defect. I've read that they extended the warranty for 25 years . But I haven't been notified. They notified me about a recall of the sun roof but not this!!
Brakes failed
On 12/16/2020 while driving the brakes on my vehicle failed. A red warning triangle appeared on the vehicle message board stating the cars braking ability was severely reduced and to stop driving immediately. I was able to drift to the side of the road without incident and had the vehicle towed to my mechanic. The mechanic could find no mechanical reason for the brake failure. The red warning light was gone and the brakes were functioning normally. Online research revealed an extended warranty/recall for the year, make and model of the car related to brake failure. Mercedes will replace the sensortronic brake control module (sbc) free provided the correct codes are evident when they diagnose the car.(safety recall #2005110001 I believe) my mechanic said that there are no codes showing for the brakes and the brakes are now functioning. My online research has shown that this can be an intermittent problem and the dealerships are reluctant or will not replace the sbc if there are no codes. After contacting mercedes the car is being towed to the dealership as I type this. I am hopeful that mercedes will do the correct thing and replace their admittedly flawed brake module but it isn't looking good as they said if the correct codes do not appear they will not replace. The insane idea that I am expected to continue to drive the vehicle until the brakes fail again in order to get them replaced is unacceptable. I'm in a no win situation.
Driving down the road at highway speed and red warning lights come on and no brakes
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mercedes-benz e320. The contact stated that a blue light illuminated, which meant that the brakes needed to be serviced. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where the brakes were serviced. A few months later, while traveling 30 MPH, the brakes failed without warning. The contact continuously pumped the brake pedal until the vehicle stopped. The contact had the vehicle towed back to the independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a sbc hydraulic pump failure. The contact took the vehicle to mercedes-benz of beverly hills (9250 beverly blvd, beverly hills, ca 90210, (310) 659-2980) where the vehicle was ultimately diagnosed and repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 106,000.
Brake failure occurred with no prior warning. Brakes are electronically controlled and complete loss of braking occurred while vehicle was in motion. Red "brake" and "ABS" lights in dash started flashing along with continuous beeping. Was able to bring vehicle to a stop within parking lot by using parking brake. Upon shutting off and restarting engine, vehicle regained braking. Car will not be driven until issue is addressed.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Mercedes Benz E320 brake failure
Which Mercedes Benz E320 years have brake failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2003 (22 complaints), 2005 (20 complaints) and 2004 (14 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix brake failure on the Mercedes Benz E320?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $2,000 (median of 5 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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